12 years ago
Monday, February 23, 2009
Land Use and Planning Commission Mtg
There is a County Land Use and Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26. I'm not sure where the meeting is being held at the moment. It can determine the direction of the county in the next 30 years and if you don't go you will be the same people who go to ABA development meetings or Nortons sale meeting too late and wonder what happened.
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About Me
- Chief Highknocker
- You aren't local until you have at least three generations in the cemetery.
27 comments:
Their agenda indicates this meeting is to resolve the land issue between the school and Lindenwood. That's all that is on the agenda. As we know, the school has walked away from the condition set forth by the county. Lindenwood, of course, is fine with this. Land Use Planning may be baffled by a condition of approval falling apart on them. Do they need to officially make a motion to remove it, probably?
I don't see where this charts any county direction for the next 30 years?
Hopefully the committee will have some sharp words for our school officials for 1) attempting to re-interpret the green space ordinance, 2) wasting the developer's time with million-dollar land demands and 3) delaying the development for months and then running to the ABA at the last moment to receive free land elsewhere.
It seems to me some study of the situation is warranted. This is a very serious matter and needs to be thought out so all aspects of the situation are considered for the sake of our beautiful Green Lake plus the generations to come.
I don't see this as a "serious matter". What's so serious about it? I'm glad to see two parties come back and tell another government body that we don't need what you thought we did. I'm so sick of big brother govt. telling us what they think we need and what's good for us. Enough with the damn hand holding by the govt. Newsflash for the govt... sometimes the people do know what's better! We're sorry it didn't go the way of your precious stinking ordinance.
Worse yet, now they will waste their time and OUR money to figure this out.
Hopefully, the committee will have some sharp words for Lindenwood Development for 1) refusing to comply with the green space ordinance, 2) wasting the committee's and the taxpayer's time and money with their delaying tactics and refusal to negotiate, and 3)forcing the ABA to give up ABA property to the school so Lindenwood Development would not have to give up anything.
How predictable of the Green Lake School to twist and manipulate the facts. To the School Board member/Administrator above, here’s the real story:
1. Lindenwood did not refuse to comply with the green space ordinance. The school took the ordinance completely out of proportion and demanded million-dollar land, then pouted and claimed, “Lindenwood isn’t negotiating!” It’s amazing how a few School Board members thought they could waltz into a luxury development and demand choice land for children’s nature study. That’s not the spirit of the ordinance.
If Lindenwood refused to negotiate, then how exactly did the school manage to spend over $11,000 on legal fees?
2. Certain people pretend Lindenwood tried to avoid giving away any land period. Not true. Even the school has admitted Lindenwood made various land offers, but no, nothing was good enough for Company B (Bates) and our bratty little school. The school pushed and pushed for Woodland Court until Lindenwood pushed back with a tell-all newspaper advertisement. The school finally submitted when the public angrily realized what was happening.
3. It’s astonishing that the school would say Lindenwood wasted the committee’s time and taxpayers’ money. Everyone knows the opposite is true. The school foolishly pissed away over $11,000 on legal fees without the community’s support. That figure doesn’t even include January or February bills. Then, after all this nonsense, the school ended up getting land they could have used all along for free.
4. The School Board never bothered to ask the public’s permission or blessing to spend legal fees on land acquisition because the Board knew what the answer would be. So the Board tried to do it quietly, but it backfired. A big Thank You to the press.
5. The ABA was thrilled, not forced, to “give away” some alternative land because it comes off the ABA’s tax role. However, the ABA can keep using and enjoying that land like always. Hell, the ABA would gladly “give” the school even more land if it would cut the ABA’s property taxes without losing the physical space.
6. Not only will this ABA “gift” come off the ABA’s tax role, but it also comes off the school’s tax base. How absolutely silly. Now the rest of us have to make up the estimated $15-20 thousand that the ABA no longer has to pay in local property taxes every year. That’s a lot over time.
7. The school had no business sticking its idiotic nose in Lindenwood’s business to begin with. All the school did was delay the development, waste taxpayer money, and piss everyone off with ridiculous land demands. Now that it’s over, the school is busy pretending they came out smelling like a rose. We’re not buying it.
So keep twisting, Green Lake School! When the facts are laid out, it’s pretty clear who was to blame.
At least when(?) Lindenwood sells the lots in the Estates of Lawsonia, that the school originally thought they were going to get, the homes built there will have a tax bill that will far outweigh any loss from the ABA's taxable land near the Tea House.
Excellent comments from 9:04.
Yes, that’s an excellent question …. If Lindenwood supposedly “refused to negotiate,” how did the school spend over $11 grand on a lawyer?
Perhaps the school could tell us.
Yes, the school, plus Lindenwood/ABA are each twisting the situation to their advantage. That is what has happened here for too long. I hope the county looks at this matter, and carefully studies the facts and sees the short sightedness and selfserving going on here which is damaging to the lake and future of this whole area. I hope they take time to do justice to this issue.
Amen to careful study and doing justice to the issue. Thank you for your thoughtful post.
Just how did the ABA twist their story? The school board was directed by their building a grounds committee to call the ABA. The ABA listened, made an offer, the school accepted, deal done. Sure, the ABA saves some taxes, but seems to me they gave up some very expensive lakefront land along Norwegian Bay that they could have sold for millions of dollars. The ABA could have been uncooperative and this ugly mess would still be dragging on and the school's attorney would still be racking up fees.
All three: School District, & Lindenwood/ABA have each appeared to have twisted things for several years now and it is TIME the city, county and town people and authorities protected their interests. If you have been reading this blog and the newspapers during this past couple years the games they have each been playing is obvious!
I have the perfect solution to all of this:
Since the school does not truly need this land (there is plenty of other public land available for their use), they should sell the land for millions of dollars (as per a previous blogger) and do all the necessary repairs on the school building. Then, we will not have to go to referendum (which will never pass) and we can save our school building, prevent the otherwise inevitable consolidation with another area school, and maybe have enough change left over for a cookout in the parking lot. :)
Wouldn't it be better to find a permanent fix, not a temporary solution?
Fix all the infrastructure and blow through a couple million bucks, and you still have all the other problem, only now, the building is in better shape.
Here is a great idea for a permanent fix...consolidation. At some point the people in this area have to come to the realization that having separate schools in Green Lake, Markesan, Princeton, etc., is not economically feasible. Our taxes keep increasing while our property values go down. What is the greatest tax burden for all of us...Yes, the aforementioned school districts???
Certainly this is not an easy pill to swallow but, come on folks, the time has come to move forward with this process. You can't tell me that a referendum will pass for the expense of a new roof, HVAC system, and whatever other physical needs the school presently has.
Consolidation will mean kids will have to travel further by bus, personal vehicle, or whatever but let's get real and move on with the inevitable. Is it really worth all of the financial output to keep something going for a limited time. The area isn't growing and student enrollment is decreasing...pull the plug before this white elephant drags us all down the drain.
Green Lake's in the middle of Berlin, Princeton, Markesan and Ripon, does that mean we close? Does our closing give enough students to other schools make a difference? Do we close, GL, Pr & Mksn and consolidate in a new school? It seems foolish to leave buildings empty. Who has the best building to absorb more students?
That's where the people who run our municipalities and county governments come into play. They run the numbers, make the projections, do feasibility studies, etc., and hopefully come up with a plan to serve the best interests of all those involved.
Nobody is going to be 100% satisfied with this type of process - it's just the reality of things. Emotions run high because people feel an attachment to "their" school. It's natural but things will run their course and people will get over it.
They have to understand that consolidation isn't a bad thing. It is the sensible thing to do. It is the responsible thing to do.
We seriously need to start thinking about this process. There is no growth in this area. Sure, you can point out The Crossroads Market / BP Station, the Clinic, the renovation of the Fabrico Building. However, these projects were all undertaken by local investors.
There has been no influx of students to the GLSD. To the contrary, enrollment has gone down.
No growth, dwindling enrollment, stagnant economy...we need to consolidate and we need to do it as soon as feasibly possible.
I believe the County Meeting that was cancelled on Feb. 26, due to weather, was rescheduled for Thursday, March 5TH AT 4:30. Is that correct?
It was not cancelled.
No, it wasn't cancelled but the county did scold the Green Lake School for wasting several months and thousands of taxpayer dollars with an outrageous land grab attempt.
Please stop writing non-truths to make your self feel good. You obviously were not in attendance at the meeting on Land Planning and Zoning meeting on Thurs, Feb 26 @ 1:00. There was no "scolding" of any kind towards anyone. The county would be completely out of line to say anything to the school district about money on attorney fees. It’s none of their business. The school budget is school business, not the counties.
You're right. There's no point in the county commenting on the school's incompetence or enormous, unnecessary legal fees during these “tight budget times.” After all, there’s no sense in stating the obvious. Everyone already knows the school acted inappropriately and was rightfully embarrassed.
School Board, please answer with a straight face: Do you really believe the majority of Green Lake citizens support your spending frenzy and arrogant attitude on owning land? Maybe it’s time to start listening to what people want instead of just telling them what YOU want. Start by browsing the results from the February primary election. Those results speak volumes.
Amen! Preach it Brother!
Why did the school have to own land in the first place? There's an abundance of public land around here already. Did the public ever get to weigh in? Apparently not, because based on the enormous amount of negative feedback around town, it obviously would have been nipped in the bud.
What a silly waste of tax dollars. How could anyone support another Green Lake school referendum when the school can’t be responsible with the money it already has?
Kudos to S.J. Wallschlaeger for the provocative letter to the editor in this week’s newspaper about the school wasting money on land. I agree, it’s time to stop this constant dog and pony show for attention.
Green Lake school apparently wants to be “unique” to other area communities. The question is, unique in what way? Unique because of wasteful spending? Unique because of an arrogant board? Unique because of an irritated public that is not being listened to?
I too read the Wallschlaeger letter in the newspaper and agreed with every word of it. The school continually downplays all of the BS that is taking place in this administration. People are concerned about the school, and our children's education. The three-ringed circus that Ringmaster Bates is running needs to come to an abrupt halt. It is time not just for fiscal responsibility but also accountability.
I believe that Bates should have to pay the legal fees for the fiasco at the ABA out of his own pocket. After all, he obviously was not acting in the best interest of the school or the taxpayers. After he pays the legal fees, he can turn in his key and go home to stay. We've all passed the point of being fed up, it's time to move on.
FYI, there's another unhappy letter this week, this one by John Kapelanski. It's good to see Green Lake citizens aren't taking this land-grab nonsense sitting down.
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